Industrial Sectors Headline VISION 2018

VISION 2018, the world’s leading biennial trade fair for machine vision, will run Nov. 6 to 8 at the Messe Stuttgart exhibition and trade fair center in Stuttgart, Germany, a city known as the No. 1 industry meeting point for machine vision.

Organized by Landesmesse Stuttgart GmbH, VISION 2018 offers a marketplace for component manufacturers and is a platform for system suppliers and integrators. The event brings together familiar market leaders with newer companies from around the globe. It is expected to draw 10,000 visitors and 440 exhibitors from 28 different countries, an increase from years past.

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The complete spectrum of machine vision technology will be on display, with strong representation from leading industrial sectors, including machine vision, electrical engineering and electronics, automotive and automotive supply, machinery and plant engineering, and medical technology pharmaceuticals.

“The industry is still on a growth path,” said Florian Niethammer, project manager for VISION at Messe Stuttgart. “In Germany alone, growth in the machine vision industry in 2017 provisionally amounted to 18 percent.”

VISION 2018 visitors can experience a wide array of highly specialized products showcasing the latest trends in categories such as components, services for machine vision, and machine vision applications. Smart cameras, optical filters, frame grabbers, and measuring systems used in applications such as barcode identification, color inspection, texture analysis, 3D robot vision, and security systems will also be featured.

International Vision Night 2018, organized by the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA), will be held just prior to the trade show. The EMVA also will present an International Machine Vision Standards booth, where experts will be examining the most commonly used digital interface standards in the industry and offering advice for use of the standards in various applications.

Industrial VISION Days, also scheduled during that week, is known as the world’s largest lecture forum for machine vision. This packed three-day event will feature approximately 80 presentations focusing on important trends and innovations in vision and image processing technology. Themes will include camera technology, software and deep learning,
hyperspectral imaging, and vision processing.

Part of Industrial VISION Days is devoted to the inspect application forum, which focuses on the different applications of machine vision and targets end users. The forum allows potential users of machine vision technologies to network with the right system and solution providers.

“It’s going to be tremendously exciting to see how exhibitors present a topic as talked-about as deep learning and link it to conventional machine vision, as well as embedded vision,” Niethammer said. “In line with our campaign motto, ‘Be Visionary,’ we’re expecting a veritable explosion of new products and solutions that many wouldn’t have even imagined just two years ago.”

Other highlights of the event include the Integration Area, in which a section of the trade fair will be dedicated to system integrators and solution providers; IPC 4 VISION, a booth dedicated to showcasing industrial PCs (IPCs); and TRAFFIC VISION, which will highlight machine vision products for the traffic and transportation industry, one of the fastest-growing nonindustrial users of machine vision technology. There will also be a panel discussion during Industrial VISION Days with speakers from the traffic industry.

In addition, VISION 2018 will present its 23rd VISION Award, a prize for out-standing innovations in machine vision. The winner will receive €5000 and have the chance to showcase their work at VISION’s official press conference event.

“The award reflects the great innovative power and increasing relevance of the machine vision sector,” Niethammer said. “It pays tribute to visionary developments that make a lasting impression on industry.”